Pep Guardiola – I gave them simple instructions but they refused and now we are paying the price we are almost out of the Champions League 

Pep Guardiola – I gave them simple instructions but they refused and now we are paying the price we are almost out of the Champions League

 

Manchester City are in real, real trouble / Crystal Pix/MB Media/GettyImages

The reformatted first phase of the 2024/25 Champions League is nearing its conclusion after the seventh round of fixtures were contested across Tuesday and Wednesday.

 

For Liverpool and Barcelona, it’s job done and safe passage through to the knockout rounds, which will eventually see the competition whittled down to 16 teams.

 

Arne Slot’s Reds have won a perfect seven out of seven matches – Young Boys and Slovan Bratislava the unfortunate teams at the other end of the 32-team table with the exact opposite record – while Barcelona have notched an impressive six wins from their seven outings, including the barnstorming 5-4 win away from home at Benfica.

 

For Arsenal, things are looking good after their 3-0 win over Dinamo Zagreb, and they are assured of a place in the top eight providing they don’t endure a catastrophic final matchday against lowly Girona. They will also need a host of results to go against them to fall out of contention.

 

Real Madrid’s situation noticeably improved on matchday seven, putting five goals past the helpless RB Salzburg, and they could work their way into the top eight if things go to plan in the final round of fixtures.

 

For Manchester City, though, things are looking desperate. Pep Guardiola’s charges were 2-0 up and cruising at Paris Saint-Germain but yet again found a way to wrestle defeat from the jaws of victory.

 

A monumental collapse saw the Premier League champions fold to a 4-2 defeat, and they now inconceivably sit 25th in the table, staring complete elimination from the competition in the face unless they beat Club Brugge on matchday eight – not a foregone conclusion by any stretch of the imagination given how they are playing.

 

It was also a good week for Inter, Milan and Atletico Madrid, who are up into the top eight and could skip the playoff round that will see teams who finish between 9th and 24th go head-to-head in a two-legged tie to reach the last 16.

 

Rank/Club

 

Points

 

Goal difference

 

1. Liverpool (Q)

 

21

 

+13

 

2. Barcelona (Q)

 

18

 

+15

 

3. Arsenal

 

16

 

+12

 

4. Inter

 

16

 

+7

 

5. Atletico Madrid

 

15

 

+5

 

6. AC Milan

 

15

 

+4

 

7. Atalanta

 

14

 

+14

 

8. Bayer Leverkusen

 

13

 

+6

 

Rank/Club

 

Points

 

Goal Difference

 

9. Aston Villa

 

13

 

+5

 

10. Monaco

 

13

 

+3

 

11. Feyenoord

 

13

 

+2

 

12. LOSC Lille

 

13

 

+2

 

13. Brest

 

13

 

+2

 

14. Borussia Dortmund

 

12

 

+8

 

15. Bayern Munich

 

12

 

+6

 

16. Real Madrid

 

12

 

+5

 

17. Juventus

 

12

 

+4

 

18. Celtic

 

12

 

+1

 

19. PSV Eindhoven

 

11

 

+3

 

20. Club Brugge

 

11

 

-2

 

21. Benfica

 

10

 

+2

 

22. PSG

 

10

 

+2

 

23. Sporting CP

 

10

 

+1

 

24. VfB Stuttgart

 

10

 

-1

 

Rank / Team

 

Points

 

Goal Difference

 

25. Manchester City

 

8

 

+2

 

26. Dinamo Zagreb

 

8

 

-8

 

27. Shakhtar Donetsk

 

7

 

-6

 

28. Bologna (E)

 

5

 

-5

 

29. Sparta Prague (E)

 

4

 

-12

 

30. RB Leipzig (E)

 

3

 

-6

 

31. Girona (E)

 

3

 

-7

 

32. Crvena zvezda (E)

 

3

 

-10

 

33. Sturm Graz (E)

 

3

 

-10

 

34. RB Salzburg (E)

 

3

 

-19

 

35. Slovan Bratislava (E)

 

0

 

-18

 

36. Young Boys (E)

 

0

 

Source

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